Double-dealing tactics
by mukyuuuuu
Summary: As the Shepards march through Plegia on their way to rescue Emmeryn, Robin is confronted by his daughter, a bit earlier than expected.
1. Desert find

1

* * *

By now it was midday, the sun was reaching its highest point and the day was already sweltering enough as is. Sunlight reflecting off the white sands made the desert a blinding nightmare to be on for any longer and the dry heat was oppressive on everyone, well everyone but Robin who had been taking things in stride since they started moving through the sandy wasteland.

He wasn't sure if his training with Frederick was finally starting to pay off or if this maybe had something to do with his probable, supposed, Plegian heritage, a heavily discussed topic among some higher-ranking soldiers and nobles back in Ylisse.

In any case, compared to the others who were restocking and resting at a nearby village, he feels hardly winded while he stands atop a dune, surveying the landscape of what was a battlefield just an hour earlier.

The Shepards had been traveling southbound from Ferox and had since reached Plegian borders when they had a run in with a young girl followed closely by an imposing mercenary who were in turn tailed by a Plegian regiment. Despite some confusing introductions the two helped deal with the Plegian forces and were now resting with the rest of the Shepards in the meantime. Since there was little time to spare it was decided Nowi and the newly employed Gregor would join as they were still deep in Plegian borders and the task of finding Nowi's parents would have to wait.

Though it's a bit odd not to see any stationed troops this deep into Plegian territory, if not for the group chasing after Nowi than they might all still be at the Capital, and that bodes poorly for the coming battle.

In the end despite the dire times and even a difficult upcoming battle, Robin lets out a content sigh, trying to make the most of this calm before the storm.

"Is there something troubling you?" asks Chrom from behind him, Robin having almost forgotten he was there.

"Hm? Oh, quite the opposite in fact" he replies vaguely, turning towards him as he takes in the view of his friend who isn't quite as pleased as he is, not with his entire face and right arm sunburned as it is... "... Are you sure you're going to be alright?" he asks, making a note to prepare more for these desert travels and engagements in the future.

"You can laugh this time but one of these days your cloak will be the crux of your problems" Chrom jokes, though it sounds malevolent in a way. Chrom crosses his arms and quickly regrets it as he tries to keep his spirits up, at least in front of Robin whom he's already placing too much pressure on with this upcoming battle.

"I warned you, I said a bit more clothing and heat is worth it to prevent burns" he states. "It could be worse though, have you seen Vaike?" he adds remembering the nonstop complaints coming from the man only an hour into the desert.

Whilst conversing a new voice appears just barely audible over Chrom's laughter. "ᶠᵃᵗʰᵉʳ"

"Hmm? What was that?" he asks no one in particular as he looks over Chrom's shoulder at the town the Shepards were resupplying in. It sounded like a little girl...could Nowi have found her parents already?  
From the nearby town he spots a pegasus take off into the air...Sumia, maybe Cordelia, must be up to something Robin supposed, though after all they did in the last battle he would have assumed the two would be exhausted.

"Faaatherr" the voice again, louder now.

"Oh, now that you mention it..." Chrom replies obscuring the girls voice slightly causing Robin to try to shush him.

Again, from the town Robin spots a man atop a horse. He seems to look around for a moment before spotting the two and heading over as quickly as his steed can take him on the sandy terrain. It's Frederick and something about all this sudden commotion tells him this isn't a friendly reminder about being ready to march on soon.  
"We may have a problem Chrom..." he states, looking around and wondering if enemies are approaching. Frederick must have sent a pegasus to scout and survey any movements coming to and from the capital, or maybe a scout was seen...

But before he can relay any of that to Chrom, a gust of wind takes the two of them by surprise and a blinding amount of sand is kicked up obscuring everything as the voice now sounds on top of them. "Father!"

Before Robin can even blink the sand from his eyes he feels the air knocked from his lungs as two arms quickly wrap around his waist "E-eh N-nowi?" he yelps in surprise as the kicked-up sand blurs his vision "As... flattering as that sounds I'm not your..." the words die on his tongue as the girl begins taking hold of the conversation.

"There you are, Father! I was so worried when we got separated." the girl says earnestly as she pulls her head away from his chest.

Whilst all Robin can reply with is "... I'm sorry, what?" as he stands dumbfounded between her arms as sand starts to clear.

"Well, no harm done. At least we can head home now. ... Goodness, the air here agrees with you! You look a decade younger, at least."

"T-the air?..." he mumbles out, his mind still trying to piece things together. He does prefer it to the lung freezing winds of Feroxi he thinks to himself for a moment before quickly shaking his head, trying to reevaluate all of this.

A few things quickly begin to order themselves through his mind at this point.  
First off, this isn't Nowi, her hugs are just as crushing though. Second, this new girl's hair is an almost impossible color of white, almost like his, and she seems to be wearing the exact same cloak as him. Finally, and most importantly someone just claimed some relation with him, which means she knows who he is.

It's then the skeptical side of his brain quickly takes hold again as he nearly shouts out "N-now hold on! I can't be your father, at least not to someone as old as you!"

Frederick who has joined the group has been speaking out loud but has been promptly ignored as Chrom and Robins eyes are trained on the younger girl, not sure either is believing what they are hearing, and soon his voice dies down as well.

"... Why are you looking at me like that? Hello? It's me! Morgan! ... Your daughter? Love of your life and Daddy's little girl and all that?" the girl says in a giddy tone as she places her hands, palm down underneath her chin as she bats her eyelashes.  
Not getting the desired reaction she drops the pose and continues in a more concerned tone "Wow, you're really acting strange, what happened after you got lost? Let's go home and get you to bed" before grabbing his hands, treating him like he's senile.

"To think you would even have your daughter wear a matching cloak" Frederick states, shaking his head, clearly not approving. A strange thing to have a stance on, though the others are thinking it as well.

Robin flashes Chrom a look, one clearly stating 'Help me' before turning towards the girl again and putting on his polite and logical tone on "You said I looked younger, but look again. Closely. Do I look like I'm of an age where I could have a child as old as you? "

"Y-you do look younger, but..." she says hesitantly as Robin nods her on "but Mother always said you aged gracefully" she adds without skipping a beat, causing Robins eyes to widen, a bit annoyed as he can hear Chrom laughing from the side.

Robin places a hand to his forehead as the girl stares at him oddly. He wasn't sure what to think now, he had assumed he was age 17 to 22 somewhere close to Chrom...but in his thirties? That seemed...highly unlikely?...but that age could explain some things, why he liked the library, reading books, relaxing...and while he thought lots of the women in the Shepards were pretty he had never had thoughts about them the same way the other men in the army had...wait no! He wasn't going to let his brain make these odd logical bridges to justify this, its fine for someone to prefer the comfort of books to outside rowdiness and...and of course he liked girls, all young men do!  
"I... I like girls!" he states out loud as if having something to prove. His face quickly flushes as four pairs of eyes stare directly at him, confused and worried...when did Lissa get here? He thinks to himself as his teeth bite into his lower lip painfully.

"Wow...uh huh" Lissa stammers a bit, acting like that comment was some stake out on her life.

Chrom trying his best to ignore all this tries to steer the conversation back on topic "You..'ll have to forgive Robin...he lost his memories recently." he says turning to the girl.

Despite what might seem like serious news the girl instead starts glowing, looking eager to talk "Wait...you mea-" she starts just as Lissa cuts her off.

"But this is great! Now he has someone that can help him remember stuff" she smiles before adding in "annnd there's another girl around my age here." The others stare at Lissa, a bit astonished that she managed to make finding Robin's daughter into a plus for her.

Robin sighs out, this time in frustration as he stares at Chrom and Lissa talk about the girl right in front of her face, whilst Frederick looks like he's about to pop if he has to hold in his speculations and suspicions any longer. The girl, Morgan, seems fine with it, taking it all in stride with a confused smile plastered on her face. Suspicious and curious as he might be he sets the questions aside for now, after all there's an upcoming battle he should really get to preparing for soon...

* * *

I had an idea and wrote this on my phone as a spur of the moment thing so i'm sure the tenses are all over the place and it's probably not as polished as it could be, so be sure to tell me everything that's wrong with it. It's the first thing i've written in years.


	2. Lissa pls

2

* * *

"And now we're marching towards the capital to rescue Chrom's sister, the Exalt of Ylisse..." Robin sighs out, having just given a condensed, but still long rundown of the events that transpired from when he woke up in a field...until now, all at the behest of his supposed daughter, Morgan.

Morgan who had been listening on in awe from the comfort of her laying position finally lets out an audible "Wow..." Hopping to her feet with boundless energy she begins gushing "Father that's amazing! You did all that? And to think Lissa is a princess!"

A frown crosses Robin's face as he wonders if she has taken away anything from this whole explanation. He's about to try and clarify some important matters as she speaks up eagerly.

"Well now that i'm here we can go together! I can help you create the strategy and I k-"

"Hold it..." Robin says cutting her off sternly "I think it's best that... you stay out of this battle for the time being at least... at least until the conflict is resolved" he words it in a way as to not set a hard time.

From the back, the group who has been sitting in on this 'touching family reunion' begins going through a few different sentiments, from Frederick's approving nods to the newly arrived Sumia's narrowed eyebrows.

It's Lissa who is first to speak, and she's clearly outraged "Robin how could you!? You finally find someone who knows who you are and the first thing you do is try to abandon them? Don't you remember the people chasing Nowi? Nooow I see what kind of father you are" she ends her rant with a pout and the crossing of her arms.

The words while partly in jest cut just as well as Robin begins to stammer "W-well it's not that it's jus-"

"I cannot stand by and let this foolishness go on any longer" Frederick's booming voice draws the attention of everyone else. "Robin is making the correct decision seeing as this girl cannot be trusted. The convenience of Robin's daughter suddenly appearing as we near the capital, the way she obviously probes for information from the most trusting, and not to mention her attire...does her outfit not bare striking similarities to the dark mages we were just fighting not hours ago?" he asks gesturing to Morgan.

Morgan, who twitches slightly in shock doesn't seem to be worried about the accusation but rather her clothing. Looking down she looks over her raggedy purple cloak "My...outfit?" she mumbles a bit in confusion as she grabs the cloak and opens it up to get a better look at the transparent black body stocking that covers most her body. "Is it really so weird? I mean lots of people wear stuff like this, and there is these parts that co-"

"W-woah woooah" Robin shouts quickly grabbing Morgans cloak and covers her back up "Let's forget that shall we..." he mumbles, face a bit red at the much too revealing outfit a girl Lissa or Morgan's age should be wearing, and he thought Nowi's was bad, 1000 years or not.

"E-erm...her mother must be behind that..." he sputters trying to pass blame.

"Plegians have some interesting clothing don't they" Lissa gawks, wide eyed

"You know... I think I have a book you might enjoy" Sumia chirps, seeming to have just remembered something after viewing the scene.

Frederick sighs as if his point was proven and is about to speak up until Chrom takes hold of the messy situation. "Robin...I'm sure you've already thought this through, what do you think?"

Robin, who realizes is inadvertently hugging Morgan lets go of her quickly and begins to think. Her age is hardly a factor, Ricken, Lissa and Donnel have proven themselves time and time again, the problem lies with if Frederick's theory is valid... If she is a spy then keeping her with them or letting her go have their own sets or pros and cons... If he had people to spare he might have her held under watch but with the upcoming battle there is no free hands. The niggling feeling that what she says might be true continues to eat away at him too.

Swallowing hard Robin opens his dry feeling mouth and announces "Alright, she'll be coming along with us...but she's not to be left unattended until the battle is done. She needs to be with at least one of us at any given time." he states before turning to a giddy Lissa "and the news of who she is cannot be spilled to anyone else...understand?" he frowns turning to Sumia next. It's just his luck these two were the ones who happen to be here when Morgan was found.

Frederick knowing he won't be able to change anything at this point shuts his eyes and instead decides to deliver the news he came out to give in the first place. "The Shepards are ready to march and the Feroxi are not much farther behind, the time to move is now. Unfortunately Sumia was unable to catch up to the scouting party so Gangrel will be aware of our arrival."

"Scouts or not, he already knows we're coming." Chrom doesn't need Robin to know they're running out of time, this little hold up has already cost them. "Alright, get the Shepards moving then, I'll take point with Sumia as Robin has planned" he states, and with a quick gesture Frederick is off, back towards the main group.

"O-oh but I haven't, I mean 'we' haven't even heard who Robin's wife is, or what she's like." Sumia cries out seeming torn over the decision of staying with Morgan or following Chrom. After a bit of whining she takes off after Chrom leaving just Robin, Morgan and Lissa.

"Lissa... i'm serious, not a word of this to 'anyone'" Robin tells the smirking gossip, trying to be more serious with her than usual.

"Yeah yeah, don't worry, it'd be better to tell Maribelle about this over a pot of tea, not during a march" she teases much to Robin's chagrin. "And I think afterwards me and Maribelle can get Morgan something a bit more... appropriate, though I do think it's rather stylish. How would I look in that Robin~?" she giggles.

"I'm leaving" Robin states quickly, trying to hide his flushed red face as he drags Morgan off by the wrist, trying not to imagine anything regarding Lissa at the moment.

"Aaalright~ seeya later Lissa" Morgan waves with her free hand, not really getting all this, but everyone's pretty funny around here at least.

* * *

This was never intended to be Some Morgan mother mystery, but I guess it is a secret for a while. Her clothing geberally has nothing to do with who her mother is and more pushung the Plegian angle

I typed this one out on an old netbook rather than a phone so it feels a lot more loose, I don't know if that's good or bad yet. Maybe less edited since I typed through the whole thing faster.

This chapter feels a lot more wacky, will maybe cut down on that next chapter since this felt like filler and exposition in the grand scheme of things. Although maybe that fits for Awakening, I dunno, someone tell me if it's bad, seems bad.

Probably don't expect chapter 3 as fast.


	3. stony mages and upstaging daughters

3 revised

* * *

The final stretch of the march was almost peaceful in a way, no Plegian attacks, no mishaps, no Morgan and it seemed the heat was drastically dropping as the day went on, though thinking about the execution they're heading to stop sent a chill down Robin's spine making the otherwise peaceful afternoon hard to enjoy.

Robin was able to foist Morgan off with Maribelle and Lissa, with the vague excuse that she was just some Plegian defector found in one of the nearby villages. Maribelle bought it and quickly got to work critiquing the young girl's posture, presentation and her choice of clothing of course. When Morgan turned back to where her father had just been standing, looking for a bit of help, he was already gone, not needing another earful of Maribelle's helpful suggestions for the time being.

It was all going so well until Robin crested a large dune and finally the castle was in view. An impressively malevolent sight to behold, the massive square stone structure sat atop a tall plateau, made up by rough and rocky cliff face. Surrounding that a tall stone wall encircled the plateau completely with the only entrance to the castle courtyard being from the singular gate facing south. The Castle was intimidating enough as is, but to top it off there laid a massive spire rising up from behind the wall in the courtyard. It took only a moment to realize the thing was actually a massive skull looking very draconic in nature.

Robin hadn't realized he had been holding his breath in until Chrom reached his side surprising him a bit as he begun speaking "This is it..." he said, the words sounding ominous at the time.

-0-

Robin is forced to snap out of his trance as he hears the growl of a man charging him, winding up a heavy swing.

An iron longsword whistles through the air with no resistance, clothes and flesh is sliced leaving a clean wound on the swordsman who collapses just as quickly as he appeared. Robin pants heavily as it feels like he's made almost no progress towards the castle entrance at all since the battle started. The sweat rolling down his forehead collects in the corner of his eye becoming an irritating annoyance to deal with as he begins observing the battlefield.

The Plegian forces seems to consists of quick moving infantry who can navigate the desert sands easily, little armor, mostly swords and axes. Archers who line the castle walls preventing any pegasus or Feroxi from breaching the line. Wyvern served as Plegia's cavalry and flying support, currently flanking from the west and north. Everything is as he predicted for the most part, except...

"You've realized it as well, am I correct in my assumption?" a voice from beside Robin startles him back to reality

"E-excuse me?" Robin nearly jumps as he turns to meet Miriel's aloof expression.

"From the befuddled look you were just exhibiting I surmised that there must be something amiss regarding the battle. After a quick examination I believe I have come to the same conclusion as you." Miriel comments, seeming quite calm given the large scale engagement. The only hint of any sort of hardships or exertion from her seems to be a few beads of sweat that run down her face.

Her face... Miriel's features were quite sharp from her thin feminine eyebrows, to her high cheekbones, she held a steady authoritative gaze wherever she went. While not the most conventionally pretty face, this all of this lead to a quite appealing visage that was easy on the eyes, if not for her near constant frown...

Robin slowly places a hand under his chin as he continued to think deeper, perhaps a quick study of Morgan's face could reveal any sort of relation to himself. It was worth a try, he just wished he had thought of it beforehand and not in the middle of a battle... Blinking, he quickly snaps back to his senses as he realize he's been staring at Miriel for quite a bit as she's held his gaze in kind.

"While it's not the best time, I do request an explanation on what's so compelling about my face that you ceased action in a battle to stare at it for a full minute and forty-nine seconds" Miriel says not missing a beat as she realizes Robin isn't deep in thought anymore.

"A-apologies... I just developed a... erm theory" Robin mumbles back. He's not sure if Miriel's dismissive attitude is making this more or less embarrassing.

"While I'm eager to hear this theory, we should return to the topic at hand, the battle" she states and for a moment Robin can swear he notice a slight curvature to her lips, just barely something someone would consider a smile.

"Right, I just thought it odd there were no dark mages about..." he admits still observing the field. It would make sense to position some on the wall, or behind some more armored soldiers, or perhaps in a legion as support... but they're just absent. "They could all be behind the walls but that seems tactically unsound."

"Hey! Wake up you two" a woman shouts from up on a horse that begins passing them by. "You two lovebirds can have all the time you want after we're done, we've just breached the walls."

"Wha- Sully?" Robin quickly turns to see that the Shepards have finally begun gaining ground, but how...

"Fath-errrobin... Robin!" a familiar voice chirps from behind him. "I managed to get the walls clear."

Turning, Robin is face to face with Morgan who is beaming with pride. Luckily Sully and Miriel have returned to their positions already as Morgan begins recounting. "Since you were busy I decided to go ahead and make a few changes to your strategy, it was really good! Don't get me wrong, but since there's no mages anywhere I was able to borrow some people to help clear away those arche-"

Robin still trying to take all the information in begin speaking over her "Wait wait... when did you... I mean, good work but" he tries to find the words as he gestures loudly with his hands. He had originally placed Morgan towards the back with Lissa and Maribelle so it's a bit surprising to see her this far forward. "How?..." is all he can manage.

"Goodness father, didn't I tell you already? I learned all about tactics and how to fight and like... everything from you and mother" she smiles and sighs as she begins to envision what is most likely a happy memory.

Robin, not sure how to reply looks around before awkwardly placing a hand on her shoulder "Um... good work?" Despite the unfamiliar gesture, Morgan seems to accept it in full. "Anyways, we can't fall much further behind... so let's keep moving."

A thousand thoughts begin flying through his head as the pair pass by some slow moving horses unable to find their footing and exhausted heavily armored soldiers.

How did she manage and adapt the strategy so well? How did he even miss her slipping out of position? He must be slipping, cracking under the pressure...

"FATHER watch out!" Morgan quickly shouts pushing him to the side.

His grip on his sword falters as both he and the weapon plummet to the ground. He manages to recover quickly just in time to see the enemy's spear embed itself into the sand of where he was once standing. "D-dammit" he mutters to himself as he goes for his sword.

Morgan has a tome pulled out and has already begun gathering energy and with a quick downward swipe of her hand the El wind spell leaps towards the soldier slicing him across the torso as if done by a blade.

By the time Robin is standing again, clothing disheveled, the deed is done causing Robin to sigh out.

-0-

The battle continues to rage for some time and it only continues to grow in Ylisse's favor as the Feroxi forces are making good use of the opening the Shepards managed to make. Everything seems to be reaching its climax as Chrom begins to announce "Robin! Their wyvern riders have fallen! The skies are clear! I'm giving the signal!"

Robin barely has time to process this as he sees the remaining Pegasus knights of Ylisse rush towards Emmeryn's aide. At the very least it's almost over now he thinks to himself as he returns his blade to its sheath,preparing for the retreat.

It's then he notices some movement from the grounds circling the massive skull. Slowly arising through the stone and sand comes something skeletal, unliving and armed in the remains of whatever soldier had fallen there.

"...Risen?! Oh gods... Chrom! There are Risen everywhere!" Robin shouts as his plan is being upended from beneath him and he's not sure what to do.

From the balcony in the castle Gangrel's voice can just barely be heard echoing down towards everyone "Bwahaha! Oh, did an army of livin-"

Robin trying to block out the noise begins examining the situation. The Pegasus still need time to safely move Emmeryn, the skeletal archers still require some time to complete their resurrection. The time it would take to cross the castle courtyard wouldn't be suffici-

"Father I know what to do!" Morgan declares having watched her father freeze up a bit due to the unlikely circumstance. Not getting a response she decides to enact her plan with or without his permission.

"Damn, not now..." Chrom mumbles as slowly the ground begins to shake again and slowly more risen begin to appear from beneath the ground. "What? There's more!?" he curses under his breath wondering how this was happening.

Robin sensing a strange energy from behind him quickly turns away from the critical situation in front of him towards Morgan who has taken several steps away from the tactician. The girl in question looks like she's been caught committing a crime, her body is a bit hunched over as she clutches a wooden box in her hands. Her face is flushed and she's staring back at Robin a bit wide-eyed as if obvious she wasn't meant to be caught.

"H-haha...oops" is what she decides on saying as Gangrel's laughing echoes in Robin's ear.

* * *

 **New: So I went and revised this chapter a bit since it was the worst. At least in my opinion and according to statistics, it had the highest drop off of readers.**

 **Old: I'm not sure about this chapter, how is it?**

 **I'm sure everyone's a better writer than me so if I mess something up feel free to mention it.**

 **I wrote this chapter different from the last two, this one seemed more outlined than the others but in the end I felt like it was the worst when trying to line it up to the events of the game. Maybe Gangrel's speech went on a bit longer, maybe he talks slow. I probably could have done this better.**

 **There's no real reason Tharja and Libra isn't in this chapter other than I didn't want to introduce someone new right after Morgan. I do have a good place to put her in though.**


	4. you could have it all, my empire of mud

4

* * *

The rain began slow, just a few droplets across the sand and soil but in just a few minutes the slight drizzle had ramped up to torrential proportions. The heavy winds were nothing to scoff at either since at points it almost seemed like rain was falling sideways as it was coming at Robin head on and with impressive force.

Robin tried his best to regain his bearings, forgetting what had gotten them into the situation and instead dealing with the situation at hand. He takes a moment to examine the landscape, at least what he could see with the limited visibility.

They had recently escaped the palace courtyard thanks to an opening the Feroxi had created through a valley towards the west. The biggest problem would be the high vantage points atop the cliff the Plegians held, archers and wyvern would control the area around them.

Because of that Robin wasn't sure if this rain was a blessing or a curse. He could have never predicted the desert could contain so much rainfall, but archers and fliers were next to useless for now, that meant the Plegian forces were forced to attack head on, on foot like the rest of them. It was slow moving, horses especially having a hard time getting steady footing, but slowly they were distancing themselves from Gangrel.

Robin could hear fighting going on around him, but it seemed wherever he looked was just a curtain of water, it was absolute chaos. With each step he felt the mud attempt to claim his boot, and the weight of his wet cloak was finally beginning to weigh down on him, luckily Chrom wasn't around to comment on it.

"Father we need to keep moving" a voice rings from behind him, but he doesn't even need to turn to look at the girl who has been chirping in his ear since the incident in the courtyard.

Letting out an exasperated sigh he nods and continues trying to move before he feels someone running into the side of him, clamping onto his arm and attempting to pull him out of the mud he found himself in.

"Come on if we get caught we won't last long!" she shouts, her voice quite loud now that she's yelling directly at his face.

Has she been giving orders to the Shepherds and Feroxi this entire time? The girls unending energy must have something to do with it, it's like she was an agent of chaos or something to be able to work in this situation. Craning his neck around he peers through the rain to inspect the state of the situation, wanting to see if the Plegians were close by. Slowly the frown on his face morphed into a look of confusion as he recognizes Donnel and Vaike who he thought was rearguard, begin to rush downhill, the direction they were escaping from. The only thing they would accomplish is slowing down the Plegians but only for a brief moment before the two would be quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered by the forces from behind.

"Wait Morgan, what about them? They're heading towards the enemies, we're attempting to escape" he says confused he even has to explain this.

"Oh I know! Of the Shepherds they're easily the most expendable." she smiles, speaking in her usual tone but her words seem so unfeeling and cold.

Where did that come from? The response is so quick and curt it nearly knocks him over. A shiver runs down Robin's spine as the slight shock wakes him up some, a renewed energy filling him as he takes a few steps forward to grab onto Morgan's shoulders.  
"What? What are you saying?" he finally gets out of his mouth, not sure what to think at this point.

Morgan blinks, a bit confused, mouth agape as she ponders why her father is acting so oddly. Thinking he wants an explanation she begins laying out her thought process with a grin "Well, they're going to help guarantee our escape, I would have liked more, but see at that bottleneck t-"

"What? No…" Robin shakes his head, still not over the shock of the statement "No, no, no, Morgan what are you thinking?" he grimaces not understanding where this behavior is coming from suddenly.

Morgan who is staring up at her father tilts her head back slightly, unsure if she did something wrong and almost seems too afraid to ask. "I don't…"

Never having had to really explain this to anyone Robin begins struggling to explain his thoughts that seem to spill out with any "The… Shepherds may not be the strongest or most well trained… but they have their own strength"

"Versatility?" Morgan chirps in quicky, trying to finish his statement as if being tested.

"No, it's the bonds they've all forged!" Robin gestures, arms splayed, nearly getting angry. He's about to elaborate before the itching question in the back of his mind forces him to ask, "What possessed you to even call an order like this?"

"I don't get it, what's the problem? I'm securing our escape, even some peasant and barbarian could delay them in this weather" she responds a bit competitively.

"That's inane! We can't just callously throw away their lives like that!"

"Uhh yes, we can, it's our job to make those sorts of decisions! A tactician can't hope to keep every single person alive during a war, the very thought is mad!"

An awkward pause falls over the two, the only sounds heard was the raindrops hitting the puddles around them.  
"I don't have time for this, I need to get them back up here…" Robin drops the topic with the wave of his hands.

"What!? In your state you'll never even make it back up the hill!" Morgan's annoyance quickly dissipating at the thought of her father's well being put in harm's way.

"Then so be it, as long as I get those two back here…" he says while walking past her

"This doesn't make any sense, those two are nobodies! You're the tactician! And I was only doing what you showed me! I am _not_ in the wrong here" she continues to defend her actions.

Robin freezes in his tracks, being an amnesiac it's impossible to tell what he was like before… but surely he wasn't so heartless to go and teach someone as young as her things like that… If Morgan really is his daughter then he can't say he likes the image he's getting of his past self.

Morgan seemingly not getting any sort of reaction begins to growl "Fine, just continue to stand there and daydream" she stomps past him, turning her head to flash him an angry look "I'll go retrieve those two, you can just go home."

With a blink Robin, ready to apologize raises a hand "Wait, Morgan" he says feeling a bit apologetic, there was no reason to get in argument in the middle of a battle like this. Though before he can call her name again she turns at him, tome in hand.

-0-

Morgan scouts the surrounding area in an attempt to distract herself from the argument as she scurries back down the hill. Alright, just have to go collect the two buffoons while Frederick and Chrom deal with the general and hopefully all before the Plegians can catch up to the stragglers of the group. Frederick seems reliable and should be able to fulfill the orders she gave him earlier before moving the check up on her father, her very ungrateful father that is…

The rain has made the hill a bit perilous at this point and it's a miracle Morgan had made it so far without a misstep, but one misplaced step sends her heel digging deep into the mud unable to be pulled free easily. As stuck as her foot may be the continuing the momentum of her body sends her flopping forward, her body tumbling several feet down the remaining height of the hill.

"Dammit…" the girl whines, trying to wipe some tears from her face with her sleeve. "A tactician shouldn't be doing all this running…" she says as if trying to convince anyone who might be watching that it was the fall she was crying about. Composing herself she gets back onto her heeled feet, finding the footwear of dark mage's outfit a bit detrimental on this terrain.

After a bit further she happens upon the two, luckily still alive. "Hey! Change of plans, regroup and make sure no one else falls behind, you'll be the rearguard until we're out of the valley" she shouts hitting Vaike in the shoulder as he seems a bit slow on the uptake but quickly joins Donnel.

Morgan's a bit happy the two of them followed orders without complaint, unlike the first time around, and she's about to head off when through the rain she thinks she spots someone else trudging down the path. They don't appear to be a Plegian so she starts to approach the dawdler "Come one we gotta get back to the others!" she shouts, arms waving and pointing up the hill.

The stranger who was staring at their feet, seemingly deep in thought tilts their head upwards to look at the voice and seems to freeze, but only for a moment as their hand reaches to the hilt of their sword hanging from their waist.

Morgan's eyes widen a bit, sensing the danger, yet also seeming to recognize the person, Chrom?...No he should be at the vanguard. "H-hold, despite my outfit I am on your side" she tries to explain with a smile as she steps forward to get a better look at the person, a young woman with a tired look and soaking wet hair.

"You…" she growls under her breath, more menacingly than Morgan would like as she quickly draws her sword on the young tactician.

-0-

Robin groaned, face down in the sand and dirt as he tries to figure out his situation. Morgan sent him flying with a Wind tome which wouldn't be so bad had he not rolled his ankle, probably spraining it. Maybe he was thirty or forty years old and his bones and joints are just pathetically brittle...

Robin was content with playing dead at this point but someone had other plans as they clear their throat trying to get his attention. Though before Robin even gets the chance to respond a blunt object begins to sharply prod his back insistently.

The person is anything but gentle and could even be an enemy though Robin is soon calmed by the soothing warmth of a healing staff. Ohhh... its Lissa he thinks to himself as she continues to prod his back.

"Thanks Lisa-" Raising his head he's a bit startled to discover who it really is "Maribelle…" he fixes his sentence hoping she won't respond with some snide comment.

"Are you alright?" she asks in a soft tone, a hint of concern on her voice. She must be worried not to have made a remark on his appearance.

"Not particularly" he sighs, a bit surprised Maribelle had descended from her horse and into the ankle high mud to help him.

And stunning him for a third time, Maribelle bends down and grabs one of his arms and with a bit of huff and some yanking, she helps him to his feet and uses her body to support him. Robin will have to reevaluate his opinion in Maribelle. Though this must be the first time he's been alone with her, usually Lissa is around to mediate, speaking of, this could just be Maribelle acting on Lissa's behalf.

"I saw what happened" her voice cuts Robin's thoughts short and he turns to look at her.

"Ah...yeah I fell…" he admits hoping Maribelle hadn't been around longer than that and luckily for him, she doesn't seem continue her thought.

Or so he thought "You're stronger than you think you know..." she starts much to Robin's chagrin, and before he can respond she continues. "Ever since that girl appeared you've been acting strangely, distant… Chrom might not have noticed it and Lissa might be too shy or afraid to bring it up directly so leave it to me…" she states acting as if talking to him is some monumental task. "We would have never made it this far without your guidance...I might not be here" she pauses after the sobering thought. Clearing her throat she continues, trying ro get back onto the topic at hand "So you need to snap out of your envious induced depression and get back to being the tactician, since, despite your lowborn status and all… it is something you're quite proficient at…" Robin a bit surprised at the kind tone of Mari- "Since if something were to happen to my dear Lissa while you were off sulking I would never forgive you" There it is…

Though despite Maribelle's questionable motives and dubious opinion on him, she did give Robin a bit to think about… was he really jealous of his supposed daughter, and has he really been acting so depressed? He chalked it up to low energy but she might have a point. He'd have to give it more thought when he wasn't being chased by enemies in the middle of a typhoon.

The two continued to walk in silence for a bit as he tries to parse what Maribelle meant by the statement, fortunately the rain was seeming to finally let up some, though the two were already completely soaked throughout. With a content sigh, Robin turns to Maribelle ready to thank her and end the awkward silence between them when he feels his face heat up slightly, and with cheeks tinged pink he quickly turns to face the opposite direction, and with that Robin decides for the rest of the walk not to face Maribelle… "I never did thank you properly by the way…" she admits and Robin can feel her eyes burning into the back of his head, waiting for a response.

* * *

I make poost

This took longer than necessary to make but my interest in Fire Emblem always comes and goes every now and then. I really like the series but things like Fates really makes me sad. I hope Three Houses is good but that title makes it sound like another Fates. I started playing Heroes again though and my gacha luck is still unmatched, my IV luck on the other hand not so much. I got 2 FemMorgans in a row so I guess that helped push me to finish this.

It also doesn't help that I didn't really like the past two chapters and I find them hard to go back and reread, I guess no one else liked them much given reviews and view count. Anyways I guess say something if you like this chapter.


	5. double-dealing suffering

5

* * *

"Hey didn't you hear me? I said i'm on your side, the Shepherds…" Morgan gestures, not getting a response she forces a smile "The Feroxi?..."

Morgan adjusts her footing, getting ready to attempt a quick escape if things turn south… well more south. With the battle seemingly over she has the time to fully evaluate the other girl. Well she's a swo-

"What are you doing here…" the stranger utters slowly, head tilt downward. Morgan is unable to see her eyes through her bangs but seeing her hands tighten around the grip of her sword gives her all the information she needs.

"I...do I know you?...Listen I think you have the wro-"

"Silence… I don't know how you're here or what your plan is but I'm putting a stop to it now" she exclaims quite confidently, her voice not hitching at all despite it look like she's on the verge of tears.

Before Morgan can even beg for an explanation the girl comes charging, her speed quite amazing, the young tactician can't help be impressed that she's closed the distance in the time it took for her to pull a tome out from her cloak.

"This is the end for you!" the stranger shouts, sword held high overhead as things seem to slow down for Morgan. Her eyes widen slowly as she knows she's already been beat, her only chance is to delay and hope a favorable opportunity arises..

"Not… yet…" she cries, clutching her book tightly as she forsakes its pages and magic and instead thrust the tome upwards onto the oncoming sword. With a heavy 'thunk' the sword slices itself halfway into the thing halting the sword arc just a foot from her face.

She almost wanted to smile but she's not out of danger yet and unsure if the girl will fall for that again she begins to pour her magic and faith into the book, attempting to cast a spell despite the pages sheared almost in half.

"El Wind! Please!" she cries, eyes shut as she braces herself for the sword if nothing happens. What comes next isn't entirely unexpected as the closed book is barely hanging together from the spine. The magical energy has nowhere to flow out from and instead tries seeping through the pages until finally, it all seems to combust in on itself. The tome explodes and at its center a powerful vacuum is created before quickly blowing the book apart, releasing a powerful gale. At first it's just the two girl's hairs that are blown back but slowly they find themselves being pushed apart slightly as the wind continues to pick up.

"What...did...you do…" the angry blue hair girl demands answers as the wind forces her down onto a knee, taking the opportunity to digs a hand into the ground. Morgan not having as much luck gets pushed over by the turbulent wind and rolled backwards, at the very least away from her.

Finally making it a good hundred feet from her opponent Morgan sits up from her prone position, her hair a mess, trying to blink the sand from her eyes. With a quick examination she notices the rain… the clouds all gone… did the tome do that? It's a good thing she doesn't use fire magic or that could have ended poorly… Still she's created the opening she needed she just needs to-

"Going somewhere?..." the woman is already on top of her…

-0-

Robin and Maribelle crest what seems to be the last hill, the wet soil of the valley turning back to dry dusty sand that makes up the dunes. Robin's almost happy to see it and is happier sand doesn't retain water as well as soil, though a brief glance of the other Shepherds in the area tells a different story. After a brief glance around it seems like everyone is here… except Morgan. The niggling warnings of Frederick come to mind but he's soon distracted by some yelling.

"Robin! Maribelle!" Lissa blurts out, turning her attention away from Chrom and Frederick as soon as the pair enter the corner of her eye. In a second she's by them, arms wrapped around Maribelle and she's forced to let go of Robin, finally giving him some respite from the unending awkward and embarrassing walk. Still limping a bit he begins shuffling over towards Chrom since it's only a matter of time before Lissa notices what Maribelle hasn't.

"I was so worried when you-...wait Maribelle your blouse! It's soaked through" Lissa nearly shrieks

"Oh Lissa it's only a s-"

"It's completely see through!"

Robin feels a chill go down his spine, a cold sweat beginning as he hears Lissa yell that out, plenty of people turning to look, hopefully they don't notice him tiptoeing away.

"Huh?... ROBIN!" Maribelle's voice pierces through him, anxiety building as he looks over at Chrom for some help, but alas he looks away as if pretending not to notice him.

"Ah...Frederick there was uh… something I needed to discuss with you…" the prince scratches his cheek, forcefully turning the knight away from Robin.

-0-

Morgan sits there, petrified as she stares up at the woman. How did she remain so balanced? Was she a demon? Not sure if she has another trick up her sleeve she leans back, finding herself backed up against some rocks… swell…

The woman seems done with talking, instead just raising her sword to finish the job, Morgan can only stare as she's about to bring the sword down on her...only to be halted… huh?

The two girls are shocked as an arm seemingly from nowhere stops the attacker before she can finish the job… Morgan is quickly relieved to find it wasn't a pile of rocks she backed herself up against… but a knight! Who was this again?...

"K-kellam?" the girl seemingly answers the question for her, a bit startled by his appearance.

"I don't know what this is about… but you two both saved the Exalt and i'd be remiss if I were to let either one of you die while I could help it" the man states quite elegantly as Morgan nearly faints after being so close to death.

The girl though seems startled, a slight twitch and she begins to lower her sword. Her face spells confusion as she glances down at Morgan and back to Kellam.

"I'll… retreat for now…" is all she can say in a steady voice as she begins to head off with a quick pace.

Morgan sighs out as she begins to stand up, glad she doesn't have to throw this knight to his death to guarantee her escape, father wouldn't approve of that "Thanks for s-...where'd you go?"

"I'm in front of you…"

-0-

Robin sighs as he's graciously been given some space to sit in a caravan… He had to listen to Maribelle go off on him for what felt like twenty minutes, on how he was a lecherous lowborn craven who used his tactical knowhow to plan the whole thing just to get a peek. Lissa knowing that wasn't true clearly found it too hilarious to interrupt and instead just stood behind her flashing him teasing looks the whole time, all the while he could feel every woman in the Shepherds opinions on him lower… except Sumia who seemed to think this was all Maribelle's way of showing affection… or something.

"I want to die…" Robin grumbles, slowly wiping mud off of Maribelle's boots. He apparently got off easy in her words, only having to clean them… and attend etiquette lessons by her for the next six months once everyone returns to Ylisse.

Lissa who's been working on tending to Robin's ankle shrugs "You shouldn't have peaked" she giggles, happy that her two friends were 'getting along so well'.

"Buuutt… despite everything you do seemed to have perked up again" she flashes him a smile, hoping to get a reaction. Maribelle had seemed to have helped him, one way or another.

Setting the boots to the side he rubs his face not wanting to give Lissa anything "Yeah… sure… still I have to have a talk with Morgan…"

"About her outfit right?" Lissa arches an eyebrow wanting to drop some sizzling gossip on what the other girl's have been thinking about what Morgan and Tharja wear.

"No… Lissa, no." Not wanting to get into _that_ he scratches his chin wondering if he should tell her. "She made some… questionable decisions that put a few people in danger…"

"Well… i'm sure it wasn't on purpose, I mean… if not for her we might not have saved Emm…" Lissa admits, the thought even dampening her cheery disposition.

"Right… she did do that…" Robin leans back finally giving some thought back to the events in the courtyard.

-0-

"H-haha… oops" Morgan stammers, a smile on her face as she tries to hide the small pine box behind her back.

"Morgan… what did you do…" Robin pleaded for an answer as the amount of Risen in the area has doubled. Was she really a spy waiting for the chance to double cross them?

"Well… you went on so much about fighting them…"

It feels like his stomach is in knots until he hears Chrom shout in confusion "What the… Robin the risen are fighting amongst themselves"

Snapping back to reality Robin looks around at the mass chaos of skeleton and half rotting corpses shuffling against each others, seeming to ignore both the Shepherds and the enemy Plegians alike.

"What… I… C-continue the plan, Phila get the Exalt away from here!" he shouts as Morgan unknowingly slips away from behind him.

-0-

"I need to confront her about that too" he sighs out, wondering if real children are as much work as unconfirmed ones like this.

Blinking, Robin turns to where Lissa was sitting… only to find Maribelle there instead.

"Is there a reason you've stopped?..." she demands, head tilted upwards as if to just look down on him even more.

"I want to die…" Robin can only bemoan wishing he stayed face down in the dirt.

* * *

Another tonally inconsistent chapter

After asking google, it seems like a sturdy book could do pretty well against the average sword, Falchion is probably three times your average sword but this isn't an anime so it still shouldn't cleave it in a single swing, I mean, that's a lot of wood pulp, it's not a dragon book. That's the defense for myself at least.

Review to tell me what I messed up, or if I should continue, I dunno.


	6. gg no re

6

* * *

Two tacticians sit across from each other, their eyes cast downwards gazing at the wooden board of the tactical game they were engaged in. At a distance you night think they were locked in concentration over the game and that's what they might tell you as well, though in truth they have yet to say a word to each other since the battle yesterday.

Both would have been fine with this planned game not going ahead but neither wanted to be the bigger man and be the one to speak up first, and so they sit waiting for it to be over to end the awkward torture.

Taking a deep breath, Robin widens his eyes and sighs quietly, wondering where Lissa was to save him from this torment. He had spent the morning pleading with her to distract Morgan somehow yet here she is...  
In all honesty he would love to get this spat between them over with, but with him not at the top of game tactically speaking, what right did he have to lecture her about his seemingly impossible ideals. At the very least he could have explained his feelings better without yelling at her.

Inversely, Morgan was already over it, no longer mad at her father, no point in crying over what's done after all. She does understand she's overstepped her boundaries, undermining another tactician mid-battle would usually call for some discipline or dismissal, but all she got was not even what you would call a stern talking to, and even then, she still had the gall to get mad. She was truly acting like a child.  
With a sigh of her own she completes her turn, trying to figure out a way to apologize. Maybe, just maybe... if she could win the game, she would could create an opportunity to explain hers-

"Good game" Robin interrupts her thoughts as he set a piece down securing him victory in the game.

"Huh..." Morgan blinks looking at the board again, when had it gotten so empty? There were only a handful of units left on the board now. "Wait how did you... win?"

Robin hadn't really been paying attention to the game and just ran with Virion's usual suicidal strategy in hopes of ending it quickly one way or another but in a twist of fate...  
Robin sits up sharply, startling Morgan a bit. To think Virion's stupid strategies and lessons would still be assisting him.  
"No, don't you see this is what I was trying to tell you. I may have won the battle but look at my units left, a fraction of what I started with, not enough for another battle and of who's left, who would follow the same tactician twice."

He pauses to let Morgan absorb what he said, her eyes locked on the board "Do... you really plan your strategies in hope to keep everyone alive? That's not..." she mumbles to herself. It's not possible maybe, but to be known as the tactician trying to keep everyone alive... a lot of pressure would be placed on him, but it's understandable why people would rally behind someone like that, placing great hope and trust on his strategies, taking out plenty of potential x factors.  
"Father, you played like this just to teach me a lesson?... you're so smart" she grins, a genuine smile on her face again.

Robin scratches his head "Yeah..." and with a look to the side he makes a mental note to make sure Virion never hears about this.

-0-

Lissa meanwhile was snooping on the two, snickering. Once again inaction has fixed everyt- "Waaah" Lissa yelps as she's thrown to the side as Sumia rips the tent flaps wide open

"Robin! Gangrel has caught up to us, he'll be here within a few hours"

Robin startled by the sound of Lissa looks around before turning to Sumia "Gods, I knew the wounded would be slowing us down, but I thought we might be able to reach the Feroxi boarder in time." he thinks aloud.  
Robin stands feeling renewed, ready to face the challenge. He might not be ready to deal with Morgan's tactics and supposed connection between them at the moment, but he was ready for a new tactical obstacle. "Sumia, how many, what's their composition like?"

"Huh?... oh yeah Frederick will tell you about that. I ran to find you first wanting to ask you to pair Chrom and I together again in battle" she smiles, her hands together as she's trying to act cute, not minding the fact her body is covered in dust and dirt. She must have taken a fall or two.

Robin deflates a bit, not mad, but he feels the wind was taken from his sails before he even left the proverbial port. "Uh yeah Sumia... of course"

Morgan bites her lip, the thought of maybe too much trust being a bad thing crosses her mind.

* * *

 **Hey I sort of forgot I was ever writing this until I got a new follower and my phone beeped me, but here's a new chapter if anyone's interested. If so i'll try to do more sooner/faster.**

 **In other stories people like using Chess to represent the game tacticians usually play in FE but that never felt right since they always reference pieces like Ballista and Pegasus, so I just left it intentionally vague, the details aren't important, what's important is Robin MVP ggez and Morgan needs to get good.**

 **Review to tell me what I messed up/spelled wrong and have a nice day.**


	7. A very boring map

7

* * *

The rocky cliff faces of the valley and sandy desert begins to level out and meet the rolling plains, a slim creek to the west along with a sparse coverage of trees around the area. Not the first place Robin would pick for a battle, though it wasn't the worst either. The nearly flat landscape offered no tactical advantages to either but at least they weren't at some disadvantage like in the previous few battles, and Robin could work with that.

He had just finished seeing off the wounded and their guard detail, having them continue onward to Ferox as they would just be a liability had they stayed. Though this would cut into his fighting force a bit he would just have to make do.

He couldn't help himself but Robin tried to remind himself not to act so confident but something was stirring inside him. He was anxious, not because of the dire situation, it was something he couldn't explain. Though he almost couldn't wait to try out some things he's been theorizing and what better time than perhaps the final battle, seeing as the scouts have spotted Gangrel leading the army directly.

There was no sightings of Plegia's tactician which was worrying, that created the possibility of being attacked from another angle, maybe even flanked completely... but scouts hadn't picked up any sighting of Plegian troops outside of Gangrel's regiment, in fact some seemed to be defecting.

There was no better time to end this war here and now, and to think Robin almost wanted to continue the retreat, but that would only lead to more conflict and bloodshed as its unlikely the mad king would stop his attacks on the Exalt or Ylisse. It was unknown how Emmeryn would respond to the situation, would she compromise on her peaceful ideals after her experience? Despite Chrom's own opinion on dealing with Gangrel, he would hope his sister wouldn't falter in her peaceful ways, no matter what happened to her. In any case, ending the war now would be known as Chrom's decision, saving the Exalt the trouble.

"Father, you've been quiet for a while now.." more an observation than anything.

"Sorry about that, I've been concerned about a few things." He sighs, not looking over at his supposed daughter.

Ever since Morgan had shown up Robin had been using the war as an excuse not to think about all the issues that came along with her. What it would mean if she was telling the truth, if he had relationships and commitments elsewhere, a wife, a daughter, a family. It was all daunting, and all this comes when he was finally getting comfortable with the idea of never remembering his past.

"If it's the battle then don't worry, I'll pick up the slack! Not that I don't trust your strategy of course" she chirps, trying to hide a smirk.

"It's not about the battle though I trust you'll follow through regardless of what I say" he states before humming, wondering if he should bring this up now.  
"After the battle, the war... would you like to come with me and visit Ylisse?"

Morgan tenses, the question a bit odd. Did he think she was going to leave him or something? She still has to take him back home, and Ylisse was far from it... she thinks.  
"Uh... well you see..." she starts, her usual energy absent.

Robin notes the odd behavior, but before he can get the chance to ask a signal is sound, troops begin to scramble, getting into position as the two tactician are caught in the middle of the chaos.  
"Morgan, we'll talk about this later, until then... well, don't do anything I wouldn't" he tells her.

Snapping back to her normal self she scoffs, playfully crossing her arms at the thought.

-0-

"Alright... now lets see" Robin grins, ready to get on with it, he's just waiting for his support who is... missi-

"Here I am!" Lissa jumps surprising Robin a bit.

"What!? Lissa what're you doing here? I seem to remember sending you off with the wounded, and last I checked you aren't a dancer..." he sighs, placing a hand to his face.

"Robin, this is serious, it's bigger than you getting a private show from a cute dancer" she states dramatically.

The priest Libra gives the tactician a distrustful look as he passes by, Robin shaking his head, trying to explain the misinterpretation.

With a sigh and his shoulders drooped he asks "What is it Lissa?"

"Chrom has a ring..." she growls in a hushed voice.

"...Okay but that doesn't mean... I mean it's Chrom..."

"Yeah I know, just the other day he was confused why Sumia kept cooking for him... he called her _a good friend_ "

Robin cringes slightly at the thought, Chrom would say that...  
"Alright fine you can stay bu-"

With a smirk, Lissa coos "I'll be careful~" seeming extremely sure of herself she just finished Robin's sentence.

"Right..." Robin utters through clenched teeth, not really finding it a good time to ask Lissa to bring Olivia back for him now.

-0-

With the few hours they had before being caught up to, Robin spent his time placing everyone in as advantageous and defensive positions he could find. When the Plegians arrived, the first signs of conflict were a few probing attacks, testing the Shepard's defensive positions and resolve.

Gangrel, true to his title was indeed mad, and very far from a tactician as it turns out. The enemies movements were erratic, some followed the king's bold orders while others went against him, making more tactically sound decisions. It all resulted in a complete mess of a battle with Robin and Morgan needing to micromanage everyone as the enemy soldiers could either be making completely oblivious decisions or a devious feint.

The fighting was beginning to slow down as the Plegians were falling back to regroup and luckily Robin would take the time to do the very same.

"Chrom, how are you holding up?" He asks, not overly concerned seeing as he is usually one of the last people that would be having issues with simple engagements like this.

"I'm fine, a bit tired but I'll be able to hold steady for the remainder of the battle" he replies, stretching his sword arm to the side.

"If you're that tired I could probably get Oliv-" the name dies on his tongue as Sumia appears at Chrom's side, a soft smile across her face. She may act cute, but she knows what she's doing "...uh never mind."

Chrom none the wiser brushes off the weird exchange and decides to ask something that's been on his mind.  
"By chance, have you seen Marth around?"

"Uh honestly I've not really paid much mind to anyone the past few battles but I'll keep my eyes open if you want…"

He just nods, deciding to keep to keep quiet about the talk he and Morgan had yesterday after the last battle, Robin has enough on his plate for the time being.

* * *

 **I had some more written out but this seemed like a more natural stopping place for the time being instead of revving up those battles.**

 **Or should this have been longer? How often do people like seeing new chapters? and do people prefer short or long?**

 **Tell me information please, how's the tone? did I mess something up? Is Lissa's character all wrong? Pls respond**


	8. SomeoneSaveMeFromThisNeverEndingNightmar

8

* * *

A swordsman charges, sword held high overhead in an attempt to end his opponent with a single downward thrust. The wild attack might catch the odd untrained soldiers or regular civilian off guard… but before he can even finish the swing a lance is thrust forward piercing the man's torso, pinning him on the spot as the weapon keeps him upright. Far from a noble or fair death, even for a Plegian soldier Robin notes… but more importantly.

"Since when has she fought with a lance?…"

He watches as she twists the lance cruelly before pulling it free, and with a smile she readies another attack against an oncoming enemy. Morgan is quickly proving herself to be one of the more capable fighters in the Shepards, he just wishes she didn't act so gleeful in taking the life of another person, even if they are the enemy. Another thing he will have to talk to her about after all this is over he presumes, so he leaves her to it for now and turns back towards the bigger picture.

With Plegia's eastern flank losing ground to the Shepards, Robin has everyone advance towards the treeline where he finally takes a moment to compose himself.

Robin is still thankful for the auxiliaries from Regna Ferox but in a way he feels he should be twice as careful with them, even if they are from a militaristic warrior culture… Afterall it would be easy to send soldier after soldier at Gangrel until they finally broke through but Robin would really rather not face the aftermath from a decision like that, both politically and from the Khans themselves…

No, Robin was much happier having them protect the sides and back lines, leaving the heavy lifting to the Shepards was definitely the right id-

"What are you doing?" a stern voice asks from behind.

Robin, thinking he was still with Lissa nearly falls over as he spins quickly, coming eye to chin with the tall Feroxi Khan, Flavia.

"Uh… er well I was surveying the terrain… I was about to have the cavalry charge the front line forcing the loose positioning of infantry to disperse and seek co-"

The words die on his tongue as he can tell by her furrowed brow, she's not pleased about something… hopefully she's still not holding that big hairy chest comment against him...

-0-

"Chrom, new plan…" Robin pants, bending over, hands on his on his knees to keep himself steady.

The temporary exalt, seemingly more amused than worried grins "Robin you look like you've seen a gho-"

"No time for idioms, we're charging" the tactician states while catching his breath much to Chrom's expressed puzzlement.

"Are you sure? You seemed quite sure of yourself back when instructing us of your plan, a bit pompous actually..."

"Yeah, I'm more than willing to put that aside if it keeps me on Flavia's good side, plus I'm not about to be the one that has to explain to the Feroxi troops as to why I've been keeping them out of the main engagements… wait, pompous?"

"Ah…" Chrom hums, unable to sympathize with the odd situation "So we're just charging?", the lord quite used to the blunt, head on tactic from before he had met his tactician.

With a slap on Chrom's shoulder the tactician strolls by quickly, not wanting to deal with the fallout of this new plan. "Oh, well you will be, along with all the Feroxi. I do recommend going straight for Gangrel, Flavia says she'll leave him to you."

A short pause and Chrom turns as the information finally reaches him "Wait what?" only to see Robin less than gracefully trying to speed walk away.

"Err Robin… are you okay? You're acting…" Sumia mumbles a bit concerned about her reading buddy.

"Me? Oh fine… just need to-"

"TACTICIAN" a booming voice is heard causing the three to turn their heads towards an angry looking Flavia.

"Sumia! Take me to the back lines, q-quick" Robin nearly begs as he tugs on the reins of Sumia's pegasus, only for her to watch the tall blonde approach.

"Sumia? Sumia plea- _guh_ " Robin's voice is cut off as Flavia pulls him from the saddle, wrapping an arm around his neck.

"I said the princess can distribute the new orders, me an the oaf want to see what you can do out on the front," the woman says quite calmly as she drags the tactician out from hiding behind Sumia.

Chrom watches the two leave, turning to Sumia as he begins to mumble "We should finish this quickly, for Robin's sake… but..."

A small smile crept its way to Sumia's lips "Have you ever read the novel ' _The queen's needs_ '?"

"I… can't say I have…"

-0-

The rest of the battle went as Robin had originally suspected, the Feroxi one after the other swarmed the remaining Plegian soldiers, who in their already weakened state didn't stand a chance against the torrent of warriors. With the King now dead the remaining soldiers were quick to surrender or run away just as the sun was beginning to crest its highest point.

Robin was a bit preoccupied fighting alongside (or as others would say being toted by) Flavia and Bassilio and had only heard about Chrom besting Gangrel in a fight by secondhand accounts. Though a bit disappointed he couldn't be there with him he was at least relieved this was finally over and the lot of them could return home… or so he hoped considering he was currently stuck at the moment, sat between the two khans on the way back to Feroxi...

Robin let out a sigh as he sets the report down on his lap for a moment. He wanted to stay back with Chrom and the majority of the Shepards but ended up getting dragged away to ' _a grand feast_ ' as Flavia put it. Not exactly hoping for a conversation at the moment he picks up the report again, wanting to look busy...

The Shepard all lived thankfully, most held their ground during the confusion that was the feroxi charge... Emmeryn's advisors and a detachment will help with the restructuring of Plegia… Chrom proposed to Sumia later that evening… Wait what?

-0-

The silver lining was that they'd soon be back in Regna Ferox and Robin would be able to hide away in his room until they were ready to journey back to Ylisse…

or so he thought, but as soon as they arrived they were ushered into a grand hall with a massive feast waiting for them. Some soldiers were already eating, others passed out at their tables, it looks like this feast had been going on for days already.

With a sigh he leans back in his seat surveying the crowd for a moment, not seeing many people he knows... though a sunny yellow blob quickly catches his eye, Lissa!

Robin quickly takes the chance to shoot up from his seat, squeezing behind some people and even hopping over someone collapsed on the ground, anything to save him from having to be the middleman between Flavia and Bassilio

"Lissa!" Robin says overjoyed, happier to see her more now than ever, as he reaches for her shoulder to turn her around his smile drops, replaced by a look of confusion. "Morgan?... "

"No i'm not… it's me… Lissa" says Morgan unconvincingly...

-0-

Meanwhile across the castle's banquet hall, the former blue haired champion of Bassilio stalks her quarry. Following a dark mage around, waiting for a chance to strike, and as she moves into a vacant side passage she quickly darts forward, grabbing the small figure's wrist, lifting her up with ease she lets out a quiet growl "There you ar-"

"Oh, Marth! I'm so happy to see you again, you know I-"

"Wha… what are you wearing?..." the swords-woman blinks as her cheeks tinge pink.

* * *

 **Well, i'll be honest this chapter was mostly ready for a long time but I didn't like it and I wasn't sure how to make it gud so I let it sit for months.(I still don't think it's good but I forgot what I wanted to do with this chapter) By the way if I ever leave the story without an update for like 5 months again someone PM me to remind me or something, I don't do it on purpose.  
**

 **So sorry. Thanks for the people who messaged me about the last one though.  
**

 **Tell me if things are good or bad, review if you want.**

 **Speaking of good, three houses eh? EH?**


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